Interview w/ Resilience Yoga Therapy

SUPER Foods!

Beyond everyday superfoods, exotic superfoods not always found in the regular grocery store or grown in your backyard can add antioxidants to your diet.

Read more about these special foods and then choose one to try.

Green Foods
Wheat grass, spirulina, chlorella and barley grass add extra bounce to your step. Not quite familiar with green foods? These concentrated, powerful supplements are rich in protein and burst with carotenoids, chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. Support your health every day with the healthy nutrients of green food supplements.

Algae (Spirulina, Chlorella)
Spirulina contains the most remarkable concentration of nutrients known in any food, plant, grain or herb. It’s the highest protein food – over 60% all-digestible vegetable protein. It has the highest concentration of beta carotene, vitamin B-12, iron and trace minerals and the rare essential fatty acid GLA. These make spirulina a great whole food alternative to isolated vitamins and minerals.

Chlorella
Chlorella is comprised of a fibrous, indigestible outer shell (20%) and its inner nutrients (80%). It is the fibrous material that has been proven to actually bind with impurities that can accumulate in our bodies. A clean bloodstream with an abundance of red blood cells to carry oxygen is necessary to a strong natural defense system. Chlorella’s cleansing action on the bowel and other elimination channels, as well as its support for the liver, helps keep the blood clean. Clean blood assures that metabolic wastes are efficiently carried away from the tissues. People find that chlorella helps to freshen breath.

Sea Vegetables
Sea vegetables are commonly used in Asian cooking. Wakame, dulce, and nori are just a few examples of these nutrient powerhouses that add essential minerals to your diet. They also can help you to reduce salt cravings as they contain natural salt.

Bee Pollen
Bee pollen contains an incredible array of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, co-enzymes, and hormones. It is especially rich in B vitamins and antioxidants, including lycopene, selenium, beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, and several flavonoids. It is composed of 55% carbohydrates, 35% protein, 3% vitamins and minerals, 2% fatty acids, and 5% other substances. Overall, it’s one of the most nutritionally complete natural substances found on earth. When you first start taking bee pollen you may feel a significant increase in your energy right away, definitely within a week or so. Over time the consistent use of pollen will improve your energy, stamina, and endurance. You’ll also probably notice a greater feeling of general well-being.

Coconut Water
• The people in tropical regions and countries have been enjoying this drink for centuries.
• Coconut water is alkalizing.
• Digestion
• Urinary tract
• Lubricates the body
• Helpful for kidney stones
• High in potassium
• Beneficial for skin

Gogi Berry
• Native to Asia – somewhere between a cranberry and a cherry
• Medicinal for thousands of years
• In Chinese medicine, it is used as a tonic to support the body to heal
• Reduces cravings for sugar
• Strengthens the immune system
• Increases longevity and protects from premature aging • Helps prevent cancer and aids remission
• Protects the liver
• Builds strong blood and promotes cardiovascular health

Raw Honey
• The processing of honey often removes many of the phytonutrients found in raw honey as it exists in the hive.
• Phytonutrients = possess cancer-preventing and anti-tumor properties.
• Raw honey is antiseptic, antibiotic, antifungal, and antibacterial and promotes healing of surface wounds.
• It is used as a treatment for stomach ulcers.

Exercise: Try one or more of these Simple Ideas for incorporating more superfoods into your diet:

Blend up a Superfoods Smoothie: flax oil, maca, spirulina, berries, yogurt Toss Nuts and seeds on saladStart a Whole grain bank – keep whole grains going all week long by cooking up a big batch at the beginning of the week.

Garlic – Roast whole heads of garlic until soft, and spread on warm baguette slices or puree roasted peppers with garlic for a fast sauce.

Tea – Poach salmon in an infusion of green tea and ginger. Or boil soba noodles in green tea and toss with sesame seeds and a dash of toasted sesame oil.

Healthy Eating Goals

“Did you ever stop to taste a carrot? Not just eat it, but taste it? You can’t taste the beauty and energy of the Earth in a Twinkie.” ~Astrid Alauda

Setting health goals for the new year goes far beyond losing a few holiday pounds or even significant weight loss goals. Weight loss is just one of the benefits of enjoying a healthy diet. It is actually more like a positive side effect of creating balance in your life. What most people don’t realize when they want to lose weight is that food is just one part of a much larger equation.

The January 2009 cover of O, The Oprah Magazine shows Oprah Winfrey standing next to an image of herself from a few years earlier when she weighed considerably less. The headline read: “How did I let it happen—again?” She confesses that her dietary habits weren’t necessarily just about overeating and consuming unhealthy foods. Rather, she realized that she was overeating and eating the wrong foods because her life wasn’t in balance. In other words, she wasn’t “filling” herself up with enough soul-nourishing things in life. This is what we call Core Foods. Soul-nourishing things come from areas in your life other than food, like relationships, career or life-purpose fulfillment, spirituality, and physical activity to a name a few.

If our inner core is out of balance, it’s a common reflex to turn to food to fill the void. But what we know is that the fix is only temporary and it won’t truly nourish us.

That’s why healthy living is more than just about food and exercise. As you make your commitment to living healthy this year, be sure to include in your intentions ways to nourish yourself in the process. Some examples of activities that you love in life might be spending quality time with loved ones, quality time for yourself, exercise, relaxation, reading a good book, or doing nothing! — whatever speaks to your heart.

The other big shift to make while embarking on healthy eating goals is to realize eating healthy does not mean starving or depriving yourself. Food is not about control, it’s about freedom and flexibility. Does that sound like a new concept to you? If so, you have been dwelling in the old rules of dieting and restricting yourself until you go crazy. Food is a life-force that gives you energy and once you begin to let go of trying to control it and focus on how it nourishes you, your relationship with food will change…and so will your body. Forget about diets and eating boring foods. You should never resign yourself to eating food you don’t enjoy. Enjoy life, and enjoy your food!

*Some of the material featured in this entry is from our gracious resources at IAWP*